Data / Single-family housing starts, contractor-built / United States

Single-family housing starts, contractor-built in United States

Single-family housing starts, contractor-built in the United States was 34,000 in Q2 2026, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 10.5% from Q2 2025.

Q2 2026, count34,000 Provisional
Change on Q2 2025-10.5%
Series high95,000Q2 1977
Series low12,000Q1 2011

Next release: Thursday, 24 December 2026, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

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Single-family housing starts, contractor-built in United States, Q1 1974 to Q2 2026

020K40K60K80K100K1974-Q11981-Q31989-Q11996-Q32004-Q12011-Q32019-Q12026-Q22026-Q2: 34,000 count025K50K75K100K1974-Q11991-Q32009-Q12026-Q22026-Q2: 34,000 count
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, New Residential Construction, quarterly intent and design: Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-09-24.
All 210 values
Periodcount
2026-Q234,000 Provisional
2026-Q124,000
2025-Q432,000
2025-Q335,000
2025-Q238,000
2025-Q125,000
2024-Q435,000
2024-Q332,000
2024-Q237,000
2024-Q124,000
2023-Q432,000
2023-Q335,000
2023-Q233,000
2023-Q124,000
2022-Q433,000
2022-Q342,000
2022-Q238,000
2022-Q132,000
2021-Q434,000
2021-Q339,000
2021-Q237,000
2021-Q126,000
2020-Q433,000
2020-Q335,000
2020-Q232,000
2020-Q123,000
2019-Q431,000
2019-Q339,000
2019-Q234,000
2019-Q120,000
2018-Q427,000
2018-Q337,000
2018-Q234,000
2018-Q121,000
2017-Q429,000
2017-Q333,000
2017-Q232,000
2017-Q122,000
2016-Q429,000
2016-Q334,000
2016-Q233,000
2016-Q124,000
2015-Q428,000
2015-Q333,000
2015-Q230,000
2015-Q118,000
2014-Q429,000
2014-Q331,000
2014-Q232,000
2014-Q118,000
2013-Q422,000
2013-Q327,000
2013-Q226,000
2013-Q116,000
2012-Q420,000
2012-Q322,000
2012-Q224,000
2012-Q117,000
2011-Q421,000
2011-Q321,000
2011-Q222,000
2011-Q112,000
2010-Q418,000
2010-Q324,000
2010-Q227,000
2010-Q116,000
2009-Q421,000
2009-Q326,000
2009-Q223,000
2009-Q115,000
2008-Q420,000
2008-Q331,000
2008-Q233,000
2008-Q123,000
2007-Q431,000
2007-Q341,000
2007-Q245,000
2007-Q133,000
2006-Q441,000
2006-Q355,000
2006-Q253,000
2006-Q138,000
2005-Q447,000
2005-Q359,000
2005-Q252,000
2005-Q138,000
2004-Q444,000
2004-Q357,000
2004-Q257,000
2004-Q141,000
2003-Q453,000
2003-Q358,000
2003-Q255,000
2003-Q141,000
2002-Q444,000
2002-Q356,000
2002-Q257,000
2002-Q141,000
2001-Q445,000
2001-Q353,000
2001-Q254,000
2001-Q133,000
2000-Q444,000
2000-Q354,000
2000-Q258,000
2000-Q141,000
1999-Q449,000
1999-Q357,000
1999-Q263,000
1999-Q142,000
1998-Q449,000
1998-Q367,000
1998-Q260,000
1998-Q136,000
1997-Q442,000
1997-Q355,000
1997-Q256,000
1997-Q136,000
1996-Q446,000
1996-Q363,000
1996-Q270,000
1996-Q140,000
1995-Q446,000
1995-Q359,000
1995-Q254,000
1995-Q137,000
1994-Q452,000
1994-Q371,000
1994-Q275,000
1994-Q146,000
1993-Q455,000
1993-Q364,000
1993-Q262,000
1993-Q142,000
1992-Q452,000
1992-Q364,000
1992-Q267,000
1992-Q142,000
1991-Q447,000
1991-Q360,000
1991-Q259,000
1991-Q133,000
1990-Q443,000
1990-Q358,000
1990-Q259,000
1990-Q137,000
1989-Q445,000
1989-Q356,000
1989-Q258,000
1989-Q133,000
1988-Q444,000
1988-Q359,000
1988-Q259,000
1988-Q134,000
1987-Q445,000
1987-Q364,000
1987-Q262,000
1987-Q138,000
1986-Q447,000
1986-Q363,000
1986-Q262,000
1986-Q132,000
1985-Q444,000
1985-Q351,000
1985-Q251,000
1985-Q131,000
1984-Q435,000
1984-Q344,000
1984-Q249,000
1984-Q130,000
1983-Q435,000
1983-Q347,000
1983-Q246,000
1983-Q123,000
1982-Q429,000
1982-Q330,000
1982-Q233,000
1982-Q117,000
1981-Q423,000
1981-Q334,000
1981-Q238,000
1981-Q127,000
1980-Q440,000
1980-Q343,000
1980-Q241,000
1980-Q125,000
1979-Q444,000
1979-Q364,000
1979-Q267,000
1979-Q138,000
1978-Q466,000
1978-Q383,000
1978-Q292,000
1978-Q147,000
1977-Q466,000
1977-Q388,000
1977-Q295,000
1977-Q148,000
1976-Q457,000
1976-Q370,000
1976-Q274,000
1976-Q140,000
1975-Q448,000
1975-Q358,000
1975-Q254,000
1975-Q130,000
1974-Q440,000
1974-Q360,000
1974-Q269,000
1974-Q136,000

Definition

Estimated number of privately owned single-family housing units started in the quarter and built for an owner's occupancy on the owner's land under the supervision of a single general contractor.

Quarterly estimates count units in privately owned new housing. They are not seasonally adjusted or annualized. Census marks the newest quarterly release as preliminary and revises the prior quarter; quarterly totals may differ from annual totals because annual figures include late reports and corrections. A unit is counted as started when excavation begins for the building's footings or foundation. This category is contractor-built on the owner's land, not owner-built with the owner acting as general contractor.

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How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. New Residential Construction, quarterly intent and design: Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States. https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/xls/starts_quarterly_cust.xlsx. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). New Residential Construction, quarterly intent and design: Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States (Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States, 1974-Q1 to 2026-Q2) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/xls/starts_quarterly_cust.xlsx

MLA 9

New Residential Construction, quarterly intent and design: Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States, Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States, 1974-Q1 to 2026-Q2. U.S. Census Bureau, 24 Sept. 2026, https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/xls/starts_quarterly_cust.xlsx. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/single-family-starts-contractor-built/united-states. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. New Residential Construction, quarterly intent and design: Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States. Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States, 1974-Q1 to 2026-Q2. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/xls/starts_quarterly_cust.xlsx. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/single-family-starts-contractor-built/united-states.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) New Residential Construction, quarterly intent and design: Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States, Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States, 1974-Q1 to 2026-Q2 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/xls/starts_quarterly_cust.xlsx, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/single-family-starts-contractor-built/united-states (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_single_family_housing_starts_2026,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{New Residential Construction, quarterly intent and design: Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States: Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States, 1974-Q1 to 2026-Q2}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/xls/starts_quarterly_cust.xlsx},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/single-family-starts-contractor-built/united-states. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. New Residential Construction, quarterly intent and design: Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States. https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/xls/starts\_quarterly\_cust.xlsx. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - New Residential Construction, quarterly intent and design: Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States: Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States, 1974-Q1 to 2026-Q2
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/24
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/xls/starts_quarterly_cust.xlsx
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/single-family-starts-contractor-built/united-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/single-family-starts-contractor-built/united-states.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. New Residential Construction, quarterly intent and design: Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States. https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/xls/starts_quarterly_cust.xlsx. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the single-family housing starts, contractor-built in United States?

Single-family housing starts, contractor-built in the United States was 34,000 in Q2 2026, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 10.5% from Q2 2025.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Census Bureau. New Residential Construction, quarterly intent and design: Single-family housing starts, contractor-built, United States. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest single-family housing starts, contractor-built in United States?

95,000 in Q2 1977, the highest value since Q1 1974 in this series.

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